Partition construction



5 Sheets Sheet i m W s 7 5 0 0 Wm" H I H A 3 m R A ".H. 601 I v. m "u "uFL.

July 4, 1944.

. Filed Aug. 4, 1940 I July 4, 1944.

a. 1.. FOWLES AL 2,352,702

' PARTITION CONSTRUCTION- Fiied Aug. 4, 1940 35heets-Sheet 2- INVENTORSGILBERT L. FOWLES 0nd CHARLES J.NOCAR ATTORNEYS. V

July 4, 1944. e. L. FOWLES ETAL PARTITION CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4.1940 3 Sh qe ts-Sheet :5

iiillillill IIIIIIIII-I INVENTORS. GILBERT L. FOWLES and CHARLES J.NOCARBY I M,W r

' v ATTORNEYS Patented July 4, 1944 A UNITED. STATES" T NT- FFIC2,352,702 PARTITION CONSTRUCTION Gilbert L. .Fowles, Lakewood, andCharles J. No car, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors toLThe E. F.

.Hauserman Company poration' of Ohio Cleveland, Ohio, a cor- In sheetmetal partitions, particularly of the relatively thin space-savingform,. and involving. spaced-apart face plates, it is sometimes a matterof diiiiculty to obtain desirably close fitting Prevalent constructionsalso have not afforded all the space desired for pipes and like,bulkyplacements in addition to wiring. Generally i also there has been a lackof adequate means for taking-care of sagging in sections including doorframe elements. In accordance with the present invention, a constructionmay be had providing the desired features of space-saving walls, and lavoiding disadvantages as heretofore noted,

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and tion is its ability to attainprecision jointing on the exposed faces irrespective of the inequalitiesprimarily encountered in operijoint construction. Spaced-apart panelface members 3 provide the forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments .of the invention, these being indicative however,

related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafterfully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims,thefollowing description and the annexed drawings setting of but a fewof the various ways in which the principle of the invention may beemployed.

In said annexed drawings:

cal .panel sections; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section,enlarged, taken on a plane substantially indicated by the line II, Fig.1; Fig. 3

isafragmentary elevational detail of theupper corners of adjacent panelsections; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the corner bracket memberthereof; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a reinforcing'm'ember on theinside of the panel face 3 the flange of vertical support member S, Fig.6.

Screws ll through these openings carry the member; Fig. 6 is aperspective view of the lower corner of a panel floor'support; Fig. 7 isa fragmentary rear elevational view of the flange of a channel verticalsupport member, showing a locking lug on the reinforcing member inengagement therewith; .Fig. 8 is a fragmentary horizontal sectionlooking downwardly, taken just above the lower horizontal edges of thepanels 3; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevational detail of the upper rightcorner of the'portion adjacent the door shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is afragmentary 5 vertical section taken on a plane substantially indicatedby line X-X, Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a. fragmentary horizontal sectiontakenon-a plane substantially indicated by line XI-XI, Fig 9; Fig., 12is a fragmentary horizontal section of, Figs. 1

and 9;-Fig. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view of the web of anauxiliary support or a door frame support; Fig 14 is a vertical sectiontaken on line XIV-XIV of Fig. 1; and Fig. 15 Y and *in'Fig. 6 for thelower brackets.

ceiling, I

The wall or partition is ingeneral assembled I I ofpanel sections, whichmay beprepared at the joints between face platesof adjacent sections. 5,

factory and require merely securing together at r the place ofconstruction. Thus, a panel section may,v comprise vertical supports s,such as of channel form, and having their webs 2 directed back to backin the section, see Fig. 2, thereby leaving the channel open at the edgeuntil closed up by the positioning of the adjacent member.

In such'form it wiligbenoticedthat there is no,

outside seam-covering or joint-covering member capable of concealingloosely-closed joints, and an important advantage of the presentconstruc- I ably horizontally and vertically, each facemem- Fig. 1 is afront elevational view of a portion 25 of wall illustratively includinga door and typieach other, the bracket being welded or other;

wise secured to the inside of the face member and such as to projectbeyond, to expose the bolt holes, as shown in Fig. 3 for the upperbrackets, In such positioning, the bolt hole 9, which is desirablysomewhat elongated or slotted, comes opposite weight of the face plateand secure it in vertical relation to the supports in desired position.

' With the screws removed, the face plate can be bodily dis-assembledfrom the vertical supports by moving the face plate up or down withrespect to the supports, locking engagement being had by means of lugsl3, Figs. 5 and 7, projecting on the inside of the reinforcing member 24which has been secured to the face plate the lug being near the edgeopposite the vertical support, and

positionedfor instance desirably at apoint intermediate the ends of thepanel. It is of course possible to 'amx the lugs l3 to the rear surfaceof the face'plates but in this case the reinforcing member 24' mustbeshortened so as to avoid I 'contact with vertical supports S. The'lugsll being slightly undercut or bent over, may enter an adjacent openinginthe flange of the verti-- is a perspective view of a modification of thelat-Jv cal support S at either th pp 0 f OWfi end :ing holes in thevertical supports.

widest portions and from thence the opening narrows to its center,whereby the lugs M are closely engaged, being raised or lowered to suchposition, as shown in Fig. "1. Conversely, removal of the plate isefiected by either raising or lowering to bring the lugs l3 into theenlarged upper or lower end of the slot in the flange whereupon theplate can be bodily swung away from the vertical support. Referring nowto Fig. 6 it will be seen that each support 8 is suitably anghored tothe floor, by means of a narrow stilt it between the support and thefloor. The stilt being secured by "screws it, the support is firmlyheld, while at the same time amplified space between of theopening insuch' flange, these being the the adjusting screws 30. 'It will beunderstood that the door trim is removable in accordance with well knownpractice, this being no part of I the present invention, the spacebetween the vertical supports and the door frame membersbeingth'ereby'made accessible. Passageways are provided at both sides ofthe' door fromfioor'to ceiling and over the door for wires, piping,etc.,

' and by means of a narrower connector bar II,

Figs. 9, 10 and 11, the lower vertical support section 3| and the uppersupport section ,8 are well secured, while amplified space around thebar 32 accommodates it-to size not heretofore applicable.

the stilt l5 and the baseboard which is suitably secured by any desiredmeans to coter the lower edge of the face plates, permits laying inofpipes of considerable size in addition to wires etc. The wings'a of thecorner brackets of the face plates being in ,opposed position onassembled adjacent face plates, Figs. 2, 6, it is seen that takeupscrews or bolts l8, see Fig; 8, through the holes :9 of the opposedwings permits the drawing up of the edges into tight joint fit. -Thebrackets B being sufliciently exposed above and below the plates, suchadjustment and tighten- 'ing may be readily accomplished. Any desiredvertical adjustment is obtained by reason of the lee-way afforded by theengagement of the lug l3 with the slot'in the support, whereupon thescrews, l'l may be tightened int'o final holding position, and thebaseboard 20 is put in place there-" over, its detail being immaterialto the present invention. And, theupper exposed ends are closed bymembers referred to more in detail hereinafter. It is to be understoodthat the vertical adjustment takes place prior to the insertion of thescrew and not afterward. Thus it will be seen that the plates are firmlyheld to the supports S but are capable of movement up and down so as toaline slots 9 'with the correspondserves to also cover the free marginof the upper The wall section being of spaced-apart plates,

insulating filling material, as mineral wool etc., can advantageouslybeprovided as illustrated diagrammatically at F, Fig. 2. Possibledeformation of the face plates in handling may be prevented by theprovision of angle section or channel' section transverse reinforcements24, Figs. 1,

2 and 5, and to better assist in the holding up'of the mineral wool orthe like, angular prongs 25,

Fig. 5; are desirably provided at spaced intervals.

The upper edges 26 of these prongs are blunt and desirably square.

Where a door vis incorporated in' the section,

door frame which is vertically adjustable with respect to the supportsin order to compensate for variations in floor level or thickness offloor coverings.

. A removable picture mold provides placement for picture hooks and alsoallows access to the space behind for wiring, piping,- etc., and .asshown in Fig. 14 this may involve a removable member 35 held by clips,36. The latter can beintroduced into the mold section by sliding intoposition from the end when exposed, the clips riding behind theupstanding edge of the face plate of the panel. The moldsection 35is-provided with a recess or groove 31 and a hook-holding lip 38. Wherethe partition sections extend to the ceiling, as in Fig. 14, the moldmember I! filler plate 40 which is secured to the ceiling, and a neatunobstrusive' finish is had. Behind the picture mold is space forwiring, accessible also for wiring enteringat any point along theceiling.. The; picture mold is also capable of cover.-

. ing considerable variations in the spacing bea floating and anadjustable mounting'may be had by means of door frame member 28, Fig.12,

for the hinging and strikes, and these are ad- Justablysecured to theauxiliary vertical supports 29 by take-up screws 30 between the web ofthe auxiliary vertical support and the web 3| of the door frame member.By means of a keyhole slotted type of opening in the web of'th auxiliaryvertical support 29, Fig. 13, the head of the bolt 'or screw, 30 can beconveniently put through the 6 enlarged portion of the openng and betightened.

against the narrowed portion ofthe slot. It will be seen thus that thedoor may behung on its tween the ceiling member and the upper edge oftheface plates of the panel sections, audit will be noticedthatthe moldhas load-bearing support on the panel units. By reason of the ar-'rangement of the clips, suflicient up and down sliding movement withrespect to the flange of the ceiling member may be had to permit themold to be removed vby raising suiliciently so that the lowerengag'ement'can be cleared past the upper edge 'of the face plateandthe'mold then I be tilted outwardly and thus be taken oil. A slightlyvariant finish of the picturemold may omit the groove along the face andthe picture hooks may be hung on the upper edge 38'. Where" it isdesired to leave a space between the ceiling and the upper edge of thepartitiomthe picture mold 35 similarly held by the clips covers the 5upper margin of the panel face plate 3, Fig. 15,

find a finish for the top may be had by the channel member 42 which haslaterally extending flanges l8 and rebent flanges 44 engaging the uppermargins "on the picture mold. A deeper framing in place, and anycompensation or stress channel member 15 has its flanges 48 secured maybe taken care of by the adjustable bolts 30- suitably, as by welding, tothe flange portions 48 at their different locations, and a smoothlyclosing door isreadilyobtainable. ,Subsequently if at any timebindingdevelops at some point,

of the channel member 42. Holes l8, 41, in the channel'members allowaccess for wires etc. or

a screwdriver for operation on screws through compensating adjustmentmay be easily hadby" 1Q convenient holes as at ll.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed,change being made as regards the details described, provided thefeatures stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent ofsuch, be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as ourinvention:

1. Ina wall construction, channel vertical supports, panel face members,openings in the lateral wings of said channel vertical supports, saidopenings being wider at the ends than at the middle, locking lugsprojecting inwardly from each face member and effectively interlockedwith said vertical supports in said openings and screwthreaded means foralso tightening a face member on its vertical support to preventvertical movement.

2'. In wall construction, channel vertical supports, panel face members,openings in the lateral wings of said channel vertical supports, saidopenings wider at the ends than at the middle, and locking lugsprojecting inwardly from each face member and interlocked in saidopenings.

3. In wall construction, vertical supports, panel face members, andmeans including cooperating locking lugs and receiving openings in saidsupports and face members, said openings tapering in oppositedirections, in such manner that the ends are larger than the center, forpermitting 6. In wall construction, vertical supports, a panel facemember, and angle-wing pieces, one of said pieces being secured to saidpanel face member near each corner thereof and each of said angle wingpieces having openings for the reception of connecting means, said meansextending to an adjacent vertical support, each of said angle wingpieces having one wing spaced from and parallel to the plane of thepanel and extending toward an opposite corner and another wing at rightangles to said first wing and extending toward said panel, and openingsin such wings for fastening means.

7. In wall construction, vertically extending post members, panel facemembers mounted upon said posts, said panel members having horizontallyslotted brackets and fasteners extending through such slots forfastening the panel members' to the posts, andmeans independent of thedisassembly of a panel face member from a vertical support by eitherraising or lowering the face member. j

4. In wall construction, panel sections including a channel verticalsupport for each edge of the section and with the channel webs in thesection directed back toward back, panel face members, openings in theflanges of said vertical supports, said openings being wider at the endsthan at the middle, locking lugs projecting inwardly from each facemember interlocked in said openings, corner brackets on the inside ofsaid face members extending slightly therebeyond at the top and'bottom,each having one wing provided with a slotted fastener-receiving opening,fasteners passing through said openings securing said face members tothe vertical supports, each of'said brackets having another wing atright angles provided with a fastener-receiving opening and fastenersextending through said openings for securing adjacent face members edgeto edge.

5. In wall construction, a panel face member, a panel corner bracketnear each corner thereof, each of said brackets having two wings, onewing spaced from and parallel to the plane of the panel and extendingtoward an opposite corner and another wing at right angles to said firstwing and extending toward said panel, and openings in such wings forfastening means.

vertical supports for drawing adjacent face members in tight edge toedge contact.

- 8. In wall construction, vertical supports, a door frame and panelface members thereabove, and a narrow bar extending from said door framefor supporting upper structure and connected to a vertical supportadjacent a face member above said door frame, said support being spacedfrom said door frame thereby providing passway space across the top ofthe door frame.

9. In wall construction, a panel face member, a horizontal 're-inforcingmember on said panel face member, and upwardly directed prongs on theinside of said re-inforcing member and extending away from same foranchoring filling material, said prongs having free, square ends.

10. .In wall construction, vertical supports, panel face members, ahorizontal picture mold member having a longitudinal groove, clips atthe'back for holding said member, and a cornice finish including a deepchannel member with upwardly extending flanges and a shallow channelmember seated within said first member and having outwardly extendingflanges, said last named flanges having down turned portions, one ofsaid portions engaging the inner upper margin of said mold member.

11. In a wall construction, panel sections erectable as units, eachsection comprising a vertical support for each edge of the section,panel face members secured to said vertical supports by bracket members,said securing means carrying the weight of said panel face members,-andtake GILBERT L. FOWLES. CHARLES J. NOCAR.

